The first I knew of Hollie was her reel. The text said something like "the stats say you will slide up in 3 seconds but just wait a bit longer and listen". So I waited. And listened. I'm always on the lookout for new Nashville stars and her voice sounded really nice. I shared her reel on my story and moved on. Later that day, I ended up on her pre-save page for her single (out today! scroll down! Yes this time we want you to scroll down!) and discovered something surprising. Hollie is from Yorkshire. Hollie is from where I'm from.
Ok so Hollie is most emphatically not from where I'm from. Hollie is from West Yorkshire, Pontefract. I'm from East Yorkshire, Hull. We might not have the Great Smoky Mountains here but we have the next best thing. The Pennines. And believe me, the Pennines make a big difference. Hollie's lands have hills and views. My lands have pancake flat nothingness and a view of wind turbines. Maybe it's not all that far after all. Pontefract is still east of Leeds. It's around 47 miles from Hull which in England is another universe. She's nearer Hull than B*lton. In America that would be literally on my doorstep.
My admiration for Hollie jumped when I realised she is a fairly normal mum who runs an amazingly successful beauty company and is returning to the musical well to have one more drink. As Cyrena Wages' father memorably said: "Trying to keep an artist from being an artist is like trying to keep a beach ball under water." Never has a truer phrase been spaked. So Hollie and Cyrena came back for another go in their middle years. LOL! Still so young, both.
There is a lot of stuff on socials at the moment about 30-somethings moaning about being over the hill. Well, maybe it's a molehill. Hollie does not do this. You can tell from a glance exactly who she is but her killer strength is that she knows who she is. It might have taken a few false starts and hiccups but she has done the work and this time it will happen. Only on Wednesday her song was played on the radio, a first for her. Judging from the reels there was quite the after-party.
Wild has a number of different meanings. In this case it doesn't mean the meaning you thought of first. She's a successful businesswoman, an even more successful mother. Wild can mean natural, of nature, like her vegan skincare products. Not as wild as you imagined perhaps.
I have virtually stopped commenting on appearances because all of these women are stunners and if they were not it would not matter. For me it was the voice I noticed first. The voice was the reason I shared the reel. But the lyrics are always important to me as well.
I've been dancing with the devil
Thinking he's mine
He looks just like heaven
But wasted my time
Please lord forgive me for all that you can
I fell in love...
Funny that. Appearances can sometimes be deceptive. But not in Holl's case. Just listen! Eyes closed! Once you've finished listening, have a listen to Hollie's story of the song in her own words.
This song came from one of the hardest seasons of my life. But out of it came a story I needed to tell and I hope it helps someone else feel seen, too. After all, we've all danced with a devil in our lifetime. This song gives us the space to heal together.
Hollie's influences include Kameron Marlowe, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen. Dancing with the Devil was produced by James Oliver at the prestigious Tileyard North studios in Wakefield and co-written with fellow Yorkshire band Skinny Living.
An artist who manages all their own affairs, and pays for all their own stuff, has a lot to lose. It's their own money. They can't blame the marketing team or the producer or the record company. They can certainly blame their parents, and usually with some justification. Philip Larkin did that but Hollie does not. She just shows up and sings. I believe she's on TikTok and F*cebook but I have seen all of her compelling Instagram Reels and her YouTube channel.
This is a great song, and the first of many. Everything is set fair for Hollie Wild to have a really great career and you can get in on the ground floor by listening and following now.
